Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Senator McKenzie. Can the minister please update the Senate on what the Liberal and Nationals coalition government is doing to ensure that the ABC's charter and governance arrangements formally recognise obligations to rural and regional communities?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator McMahon, for your question. I know your Territory was severely impacted by decisions made by the former managing director and the ABC board when they got rid of short-wave radio, so this is an important question of yours.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Because of your cuts!

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) | Link to this | Hansard source

No, actually it wasn't. Please read Senator McCarthy's actual Senate inquiry into the issue. The Liberal-National government knows the importance of the ABC to rural and regional communities. It provides local voices, talking about local issues. It covers the good, like thrilling local sporting derbies; the bad—the stresses that local communities are under because of the drought; and the downright ugly, broadcasting our emergency service information to keep locals informed and safe in bushfires and in floods, as they're currently doing. That's why it's so important that regional Australia has a say in how the ABC is run, because decisions made by a city-centric board and management centre mean that services end up getting cut to the very people for whom the ABC is often the only provider of entertainment, information and current affairs.

That is why our government is seeking to legislate changes to ensure the ABC is responsive to the needs of rural and regional Australia: amending the charter to include regional and geographic diversity; establishing an advisory council so that the ABC board, before it makes decisions that impact on service provision, actually bothers to consult those impacted, because we know they haven't in the past; annual reporting obligations; and ensuring the ABC board itself has connections into regional Australia.

This is just one example of how our government is focused on the needs of regional Australians, because we believe geography should not be a determinant of your future success.

Scott Ryan (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I'm going to ask senators that when I call them to order by name, they at least count to 20 before they interject again. Senator McMahon, a supplementary question?

Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

What measures are the government proposing to ensure that the regional advisory council is representative of rural and regional Australia?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) | Link to this | Hansard source

In my previous role as Minister for Decentralisation, I probably should have just decentralised Ultimo out to the regions and we wouldn't even need this piece of legislation. But I didn't quite get there!

The regional advisory council is to be established within three months of the bill becoming law. The council's role will be to reflect and consult with regional Australia when the board is actually making decisions on service provision. We had the short-wave decision, which saw the NT basically without ABC services outside of Darwin, Alice Springs and Katherine. It was just shocking: people on station could not actually listen to the national broadcaster, which receives a billion dollars worth of public funds. Over time, the ABC has had numerous examples of cutting services and consolidating staff into capital cities.

The bill will also require the ABC board to have at least two appointees who have a deep connection to rural and regional Australia. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McMahon, a final supplementary question?

Sam McMahon (NT, Country Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

Could the minister please detail what reporting obligations the ABC will have to ensure that these measures are being met?

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) | Link to this | Hansard source

These changes are all about making sure rural and regional Australia's interests are better represented in the ABC's governance structures. It's important to have a metric (1) to make sure that changes are implemented in a timely way, and (2) to make sure rural and regional voices are heard and listened to in ABC management decisions. The bill will introduce a number of additional annual reporting obligations to the ABC, because I find that if you are actually going to have to report something publicly it will help you focus the mind on the impact of your decisions. The ABC will have to provide statistics on the number of people employed in regional and metropolitan areas. These will include details on the number of journalists employed in regional areas as well as the total number of hours of local or regional news bulletins broadcast each year. This is incredibly important for transparency. The ABC is an important news and entertainment service to our community, and we want to make sure that continues.